A member of an armed group guarding an Oklahoma gun store accidentally shot himself, the Muskogee County, Okla., sheriff said.
The unidentified man was struck in the arm by a bullet as he dropped his handgun while standing before the store in Oktaha, near Tulsa. He was part of a volunteer guard protecting the store after the proprietor posted a sign in a window last week declaring it a "Muslim-free" zone. His actions came after a shooting in July at a Chattanooga, Tenn., military recruiting station; the assailant later drove to a US Navy Reserve base, where four US Marines, a US Navy specialist and the shooter were killed.
"I didn't want any terrorists, or Muslims, cult, whatever you want to call them, training on my gun range. There is a military recruiting station in the mall in Muskogee, and I thought this was one thing I could do to help protect our local soldiers," said Chad Neal, owner of the "Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gear" store.
Referring to the volunteer guard, Sheriff Charles Pearson told KOTV-TV, Tulsa, "I saw several of those gentlemen out there yesterday. The way they were holding their weapons, with the fingers on the triggers, you can tell a couple of these gentlemen have no idea about weapons safety. It's like the Clampetts have come to town," a reference to the television program The Beverly Hillbillies.
By Ed Adamczyk
